


ophiomorphic

by Phoenixgriffin260



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, BAU recounts Nathans life, Canonical Character Death, Daemons, Nathan Died, first chapters are re-telling of episode, i do actually like nathan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixgriffin260/pseuds/Phoenixgriffin260
Summary: Ophiomorphic - Having or resembling the form of a serpent; snakelike--With a nervous, stuttering almost-smile, Nathan had leaned over the railing, clearing his throat oh-so-gently, to get the 'doctor' and his daemon's attention.And it had worked.Worked for too long.





	ophiomorphic

Spencer somehow sensed something was wrong. It wormed its way through his gut, and, alike to a parasite, inched slowly out of his skin and into the open air. 

Spencer wasn't ready, but he had to be. For the strange feeling that creeped over the railing where he had met the boy (he contemplated, briefly, if that was the right word) and his daemon (which coiled, this way and that, around the boy's neck, eyes glassy and split tongue directed towards anything but Reid. But Reid knew how snakes worked, and that didn't make him feel better). 

Spencer remembered everything in the brief meeting-

_He had been rushing up the stairs, coffee held delicately in his daemon's mouth, when there was a sudden halt, just to process the strange, fawn-like voice._

_"You're Doctor Reid?" The boy had said, faintly, although it was phrased more like a rhetorical question._

_"Do we know you?" Came the response from Tajek, her glimmering pelt pressed to Reid's legs- coffee was forgotten, left between the wildcat's paws._

_The boy fidgeted, soft eyes nervously glancing to his feet and back. "I... I just know what you do.." he had responded, his daemon hissing from under his chin._

_Tajek had turned, stopped by a whispery, but forceful, "Don't go," by the ever-squirming mass wrapped around the boy's neck. "L-Look, I saw you at..-" he mumbles, not knowing the name enough to pronounce it clearly. "You- uh, gave a lecture on sexual sadism... and how you helped catch them?"_

_Spencer had felt his heart pause, considering trusting the boy. The wildcat had given him the once-over._

_"Not much of a public speaker," He had laughed, eyes trained on the writhing scales._

_The boy, smiling slightly, more alike to a small doe than anything Spencer had seen before, shrugged. "I.. dunno. It seemed cool."_

_Reid laughed again, awkwardly- his 'blue screen of death'. "You seem kinda young to be goin' to these events," Tajek added, helping._

_The boy's daemon had hissed, again. Spencer didn't know what species the daemon was (and he still doesn't, at least not yet)._

_"I- I'm a junior in Northwest."_

_Spencer had smiled, joking. "And you go to lectures on anger excitation for fun?"_

_The boy had paused, throat audibly clicking together as he had smiled, softer and more anxious. "I don't have a lot of friends,"_

_It was his turn to pause. "So you're interested in profiling?" Reid had asked- it was something he knew more in, something he might be able to talk about._

_The boy, daemon included, had perked up. "Y-Yeah! I,- I.. I mean, I read a lot- true crime, graphic novels- that, mostly." And there was the deer-smile._

_"They'r-- They're all about if there's such things as evil, l- like nature verses nurture, that sorta stuff... so I figured it would be best to hear it from an expert!"_

_They both stopped, the boy's throat clearly clenching under the daemon. "So, they mostly kill prostitutes?"_

_"It's actually the number one target for serial killers," Tajek had piped up, her paw firmly on Spencer's foot._

_The boy, deer-smile dropping, a look closer to a blank, maybe scared face flicking in, inhaled. "Is that for sex or is it... because they think they're dirty and need to be punished?"_

_Both Reid and Tajek had dropped other trains of thought. "Were- were you waiting for me?" He asked, brows furrowing._

_"What would it mean if  somebody was stabbing them and cutting off their hair?" The snake on his neck constricted slightly, tongue flicking in to taste it's bond's flesh._

_"I- I've, uh, never heard of a case like that."_

_The boy's eyes watered, so slightly, at their edges._

_"Y- you- you wanna go to the BAU with me? Maybe talk to somebod-?"_

_The boy had walked out, head down, daemon curled like a chain around his neck._

_And all Reid could think was-_

"DC may have a serial killer," he breathed. "And I just.. let him get away." 


End file.
